Walleye

[Dutch]

Can some please school me. I am wanting to learn to fish for walleye. They are "accident" fish but really taste good.

I have read some about bottom bouncers and spinner rigs. I made up some bouncers and am in the process of snelling some hooks and making spinner rigs but don't really know what to do with either of them.

Any help appreciated.

[mjk86]

Pretty new to the world of walleye fishing myself. A bit of a learning curve compared to bass...Do a quick google search regarding crawler harnesses, and bottom bouncers. There are tons of articles on how to catch walleye. (although actually catching them is a bit more difficult!). Trolling for Table Rock Walleye | Table Rock Lake White River Walleye on Worm Harness | Ozark Anglers. These are two extremely informative articles. Although they target white river lakes, the information translates well for stockton. Also...looking at past reports on OA regarding walleye (stockton lake, TRL, and bull shoals) can be informative as far as where walleye go at a given time of year. Good luck!!

[rps]

[powerdive]

Dutch, if you're still tying, here's the best how-to article I've seen on harness making:

http://www.walleyesinc.com/walleyeinc3/howtotie.html

Otherwise, assuming you have a bowmount electric with sonar and GPS....drop your bouncer/harness down to bottom as the boat is moving, then let out a bit more to re-contact bottom, more if needed, and hold. You want to run your weight just off bottom, rather than dragging it, but close enough so that you can just swing your rod back a few feet to re-establish contact with the bottom. Adjust as needed for changes in depth and speed (more depth/higher speed = more line out). In general, the less line you have out the better. Straight down is great, for water over 12 feet or so,, and never run your line at an angle greater than 45 degrees behind you. Reel up and re-drop if you need to--only takes a few seconds.

Troll your harness fast enough to turn the blade and provide a little lift, and slow enough to make it an easy meal. Walleyes just love to slowly suck those things in--seldom will they slam it, so usually you'll have to nurse the bite a bit until they've taken it firmly. Hold steady, and let the fish load the rod, then sweep-set. Move along at 0.7 to 1.5 mph GPS--average 1 mph works great.

Rule of thumb is to use 1 oz. of weight for every 10 feet of depth, but I use 2 oz. for just about all situations. As long as you're sure you're getting down, and not dredging bottom, you're fine.

You'll get a feel for it in no time. Bluegills peck at a harness like a machine gun, bass and catfish usually take it hard and aggressive, and walleyes deliver a sudden heaviness and (when active) a slow pulsing feel. When the rod loads, the battle's on.

[bfishn]

Very well put PD, a beginner could save months/years of learning the hard way by that direction, word for word.

That and rps' articles are really all you need. Everything else is noise.

[powerdive]

Thanks, B! By the way, Dutch, that article is many years old, though the basic info is still spot on today. And he's Canadian...they do things a little different up der, eh. Just use Octopus hooks for this style of harness...#4 is standard, and perfect for Stockton. Suggest moving up to #2 or #1 for the bigger bite in Table Rock, Bull Shoals or Norfork. Good luck!

P.S. Most guys 'round here use 12# test mono or fluoro for their harnesses....

[Dutch]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have enough tied up to try this type of fishing out and see what happens. I hope to give it a try for a bit on Friday morning.

Do you use a double snell on crawlers or is it necessary?

[kwall]

I learned by hire'in guides on many area lakes(Stockton,Bull,Beaver) and some adjoining states lakes also-- I have to say they have been worth every penny cause now I can catch them any where I go that has a fishable population --